TWO MILITANTS HOLED UP IN J&K SCHOOL KILLED AFTER 14 HOURS

Security forces gunned down two militants holed up in a school on the outskirts of Srinagar on Sunday, ending a 14-hour encounter in which a couple of soldiers were also injured.

Jammu and Kashmir director general of police SP Vaid confirmed the militant deaths that evening. Both the soldiers are reportedly out of danger.

The encounter began after two militants opened fire at a roadopening party passing through Pantha Chowk, killing a CRPF sub-inspector and injuring a jawan, on Saturday evening. The attackers then fled into the Delhi Public School building.

“The exchange of fire between security forces and militants, which began around 3.40am, is over. Two militants have been killed,” an official said, adding search-and-sanitisation operations were underway at the site.

Security forces had to conduct a room-to-room search of the structure to locate and eliminate the duo. Restrictions prescribed under Section 144 of the CrPC were also imposed on the Ram Munshibag-Sempora stretch of the nearby Srinagar-Jammu national highway to discourage people from protesting near the encounter site.

Terror organisation Lashkare-Taiba had earlier claimed responsibility for the attack, and even said that its militants killed three security personnel.

The wreath-laying ceremony of the deceased CRPF sub-inspector, Sahab Shukla (50), was held at the Recruit Training Centre in Humhama earlier in the day.

CONTINUED ON P 8 SRINAGAR PRESENCE A SHIFT

IN MILITANT STRATEGY ››P10